Chess in Israel

The teachers' room at our school has three desktop computers. A couple months ago the one on the right started shutting down abruptly in the middle of powering up, then a month later the middle computer began experiencing powerup failures, and last week the failures spread to the computer on the left. Since it's only at work that the environment exists for me to bring my A-game to the chess board, my wartime streak is on hold until further notice. Instead, why not polish up my opening repertoire? The Samisch Variation has long been my weapon of choice against the King's Indian Defense. Against inexperienced players it leads to quick checkmates: White trades off the dark-square bishes early, and by the time Black recognizes the danger to his king from White's pawn storm, he is helpless to stop the invasion of White's major pieces on the h-file. Victories in this vein have made me spoiled, lazy and superficial. More experienced opponents delay castling, find ways ...

Yesterday's game confirmed that at my level Rapid games are still decided not by positional understanding or calculation prowess but by blunders. Going into today's game my plan was to expect that my opponent would blunder, be vigilant in detecting when he did, and avoid silly blunders myself. It's not clear how much these plans, although they sound good on paper, actually work in practice. For today's game Chess.com matched me with one KrokodilKim, rated 1572 out of Croatia. It was an exciting game, volatile, in the course of which I amassed a six-point lead in material, allowed the lead to shrink to just one point, and then promoted that one point to a queen in a king-and-pawn endgame that should have been a draw. The win improves my wartime record to 5-1-3 and puts me back within striking distance of 1600. Position 1: Black to move Assigned the black pieces, I replied to White's 1.e4 with the French 1...e6 . White advanced 2.e5 , to which Game Review wan...

This chess journey that started three weeks ago after the war with Iran broke out has also been a journey of AI image generation. My first experiments generating AI images involved Google Bard, the predecessor of Gemini, and were clumsy attempts to design postage stamps. Fast-forward two years and when Google released Nano Banana 2 in late February, the timing couldn't have been better. I have been able not only to capture the highs and lows of my chess journey but also to contextualize them within the war's daily impact. Until today, that is, when Gemini indicated that its safety guidelines prohibit it from depicting "missiles and drones or scenes related to the war." For today's game Chess.com paired me with one kiran547, rated 1544 out of India. There had only been one air raid siren in the morning, and for once I wasn't shivering cold when I sat at the computer in the teachers room for the game. Against my Queen's Gambit, opponent played the Marsh...

The frequency of air raid sirens today was higher than usual. A couple hours after this afternoon's game, a submunition from an intercepted Iranian missile bearing a cluster warhead exploded around the corner from my school. This is a war that should have been fought years ago, when it was clear Iran was on course to becoming the next North Korea and before it acquired the capabilities it has now. For today's game Chess.com matched me with one msjikon, rated 1547 out of Indonesia. Already on move 6 I was up a pawn, and on move 11 two pawns. On move 17 my advantage flipped from a winning -3.83 to +M3, and on move 20 opponent back-rank checkmated me. The loss brings my wartime record to 3-1-3, and it was the first time I felt the urge to tilt. I'm in it for the long haul, though, and the commitment to learning is stronger than the urge to win back rating points. Position 1: Black to move Assigned the Black pieces, I replied to White's 1.e4 with the French 1...e6 ...

It's a surreal situation in Jerusalem where one moment air raid sirens and explosions send everyone running for cover and the next moment the city is back to normal like nothing happened. At the hospital yesterday for my long-awaited postop appointment, the surgery ward had been moved four stories below ground. My surgeon, meanwhile, after a brief examination, cleared me to return to an active lifestyle. For today's game Chess.com matched me with one MADANION, rated 1565 out of Moldova. He played a frustrating combination of fast and defensive, reacting with confidence to my threats but never countering with threats of his own. As in the previous game, I had a decisive advantage in the middlegame; but even though I didn't blunder any pieces, I still failed to convert and the game ended in a draw. This puts my wartime record at 3-1-2. Position 1: White to move Assigned the white pieces, I opened 1.d4 , and after 1...d5 2.c4 dxc4 we were in a Queen's Gambit Accep...

Today's loss, while avoidable, hardly came as a surprise. Because of the war, the appointment I was supposed to have with my surgeon last Monday got postponed to yesterday, but when I showed up at the hospital yesterday they told me there was a scheduling mixup and to return next Monday. Moments before I planned to sit down and log into Chess.com an air raid siren went off, and that came on the heels of a frustrating morning of Zoom classes. For today's game Chess.com matched me with one mrpk87, rated 1619 out of Bangladesh. mrpk, the highest-rated opponent I've faced to date, blundered a pawn in the opening and was down to -3.77 on move 26, but then I blundered a rook and my position for the rest of the game was hopeless. I'm not discouraged by the loss, however, nor do I feel a need to avenge it with a tilt followup. There's no rush. My wartime record stands at 3-0-2, and Zoom classes are expected to continue for at least another week. Position 1: Black to...

It is day eleven of the war with Iran and the Iranians are reportedly firing missiles armed with cluster warheads at us. In Jerusalem air raid sirens sounded sporadically throughout the day, and the shock waves of distant explosions rattled the windows like the pounding of battering rams. Classes continue to be held on Zoom, and I resumed my chess streak after skipping yesterday on account of fatigue. In today's game Chess.com matched me with one Ransalhariri, rated 1499 out of Sweden. Against his Double Fianchetto Variation of the King's Indian Defense I played the Samisch Variation. Ransal put up more of a fight than the last two opponents but failed to capitalize when I hung a bish midway through the game and ultimately fell to checkmate. The win has put me four points shy of a 1600 rating and improved my wartime record to 3-0-1. Position 1: White to move Assigned the white pieces, I opened 1.d4 , and Black's reply of 1...g6 suggested I would be facing the Kin...

Could the war be winding down? Today was the first day since it started that none of my Zoom classes was interrupted by an air raid siren. There were also no sirens overnight in Jerusalem, such that I awoke in the morning feeling fresh and rested. My last class ended at 13:40, and shortly after two o'clock I sat at a computer in the staff room for game three of my streak. In today's game Chess.com paired me with one PramodKadyan, rated 1562 out of India. It was a Queen's Gambit Accepted, and I hung a pawn on move six -- but Pramod missed it and played poorly thereafter. The scariest moment came around move 27 when a teacher came to talk to me about her experience Zooming from school and I had to split my attention between her and the game. Fortunately, Black's position was hopeless by then and my moves effectively played themselves. Current streak record: 2-0-1. Move 6: Black missed my hung pawn Assigned the white pieces, I opened 1.d4 , and after 1...d5 2.c4 dx...